Harry Potter and the Magister Magi
by Blaster master 1942
Summary: Negima/HP Crossover. Negi Springfield gets assigned to Hogwarts as the DADA teacher. Naturally, trouble ensues as he and another bespecled magic user join forces to fight evil. Contains mild nudity, violence and language. Pairings later in story.
1. Chapter 1

(Author's note: I borrow some elements from all the Negima continuities, but mostly the manga. Takes place after Volume 8 in Negima and during "the Order of the Pheonix" in Harry Potter. I've put asterisks next to Japanese terms, with a translation at the bottom. I do not own Negima or Harry Potter, they belong to Ken Akamatsu and J.K. Rowling, respectively. )

**_Harry Potter and the __Magister Magi_**

**Chapter I**

Konoemon Konoe set his pen down on his desk. Taking a break from his paperwork, the old man swiveled his chair around and looked out of his large window. Before him, still gleaming from the early morning sunlight, was Mahora Academy. Mahora was one of the largest city sized campuses in the world, with a total population of over 30,000. The Academy had classes for students from kindergarten to college, was home to a 270 meters high "World Tree", and, most importantly, was a school created by mages. And though it was built with the non-magical community in mind, the oddest sorts always tended to end up here. And it was Konoemon's job to maintain it all. After all, he was the school dean.

Suddenly the elderly school dean's phone rang. "Hello? This is the dean" Konoe spoke in Japanese when he picked up the phone. "Ah, Konoemon-san*, it's good to hear from you. It's been a long time" the voice over the phone said in fluent Japanese.

The dean started in surprise, "Albus-san?"

"Indeed" the Headmaster of Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry said. "Are you well? I hear your school is doing quite well for itself".

"Yes, though I find it hard to believe you called me just to ask about the state of my school Albus, especially when so many misfortunes have befallen your own".

"I see there is no hiding it from you, old friend. I am in need of your help. I require a temporary Defense against the Dark Arts teacher until I can get a more permanent professor. No one else has stepped forth, and the teacher who will be provided by our Ministry of Magic in the event I find no other is a woman I'd rather _not_ have in my school."

The dean of Mahora stroked his beard in thought, running his list of teachers through his mind. Suddenly, he had an idea. "Albus-san, I may have the perfect teacher for you. He is a young mage, the newest teacher here, but he has proven to be a capable instructor. I think he'll fill your position well."

"Good. The term begins September 1st. I suggest your teacher uses the student train at King's Cross."

"Very well, I will let Negi-kun** know of his new duties. _Sayonara***_, Albus-san".

"_Sayonara_" Dumbledore said as he laid the ancient Muggle phone down on its cradle.

The headmaster turned to Minerva McGonagall, his deputy headmistress. "Headmaster, as you sure about this?" McGonagall asked nervously. "After all, all the teachers there are mages, and they study a completely different kind of magic! And will he even be able to speak the same language as the students? What if…" Dumbledore raised a hand and McGonagall quieted.

"I have full faith in Konoemon's choice" Dumbledore said simply. "I'm sure whoever he chooses will be the one he thinks will be the best for the job."

***

"_NEGI!!_" Asuna yelled as she chased Negi down. Negi tried to escape, but Asuna tackled him to the ground of their dorm room and began to grind her fist into the side of Negi's head. "I'm sorry Asuna-san!"

Negi cried. Negi Springfield was a 9 year old mage who taught English in the all girl's middle school department of Mahora. Negi was small, thanks to his age, had brown hair with pinkish red on top, brown eyes and small reading glasses. Negi graduated from his magic school in Wales with top marks and was considered by many to have great potential as a 'Magister Magi', or master mage. And although he tried his best to hide his secret, quite a few of his students knew about his magical abilities.

This leads us to the girl currently punishing Negi; Asuna Kagurazaka, 14 year old Mahora student who was taught English by Negi. Asuna's bright orange hair reflected her fiery personality, and she constantly wore her hair in two pig tails held together by a pair of ribbons with her signature bells on them. Asuna was heterochromic, having one blue eye and one green eye. She was the first person at Mahora to discover Negi's abilities, and while she was often angry and violent, she had proven to be a valuable ally to Negi.

"Negi, how many times do I have to tell you that I don't need your magic!?" Asuna yelled as she held Negi down and noogied him into submission. "_Gomenosai****!_ I'm sorry Asuna-san!" Negi cried, "I was just trying to make your paper route easier!"

"By magicking my shoes to run by themselves!?"

"They were supposed to help you run faster!"

"Well they did, but I ran half way to Tokyo!"

"I'm sorry!"

"Your sorry does not help my thighs!"

"Don't worry Asuna-san! I'll heal them for you."

"No, wait! Don't!"

There was a loud explosion as Negi's spell went wrong, as they often did around Asuna.

"_NEGI!!_"

Neither headmaster could have predicted the mayhem that would occur from this decision; but if they had, this wouldn't be a very long fan fic, would it?

Translation Notes

( * -san: a basic honorific used for co-workers, people you aren't personal with or people on the same hierarchy level as you

** -kun: an honorific used for small children or those younger then yourself

*** Sayonara: "goodbye"

**** Gomenosai: A polite apology, "I beg your pardon"

FYI, I'll only translate these once, so remember them )


	2. Chapter 2

(AN: I'll try to post a new chapter every 2 weeks, but to be honest I don't handle schedules well, so no promises)

**Chapter II **

Later that morning, after Konoka, Asuna's best friend and roommate, was able to convince Asuna to let Negi go, the teacher reported to the school dean's office. Shinzuna-sensei*, one of the school's counselors, had told him the dean had an important assignment for him. Negi was a little nervous; after all, it wasn't that he resented being given tasks; it was just that the dean's requests had the unfortunate tendency to lead to mortal peril. Still, he had survived the magical battle at Kyoto; how much worse could this assignment be? And besides, he had improved greatly since then; learning Chinese martial arts and a great deal of magic. Negi reassured himself that whatever the dean had in mind, he could handle it.

"Ah, Negi-kun" The dean said as Negi entered the office.

"You wanted to see me?" Negi asked as he assumed his position in front of the desk with his arms at his side and his back straight. "_Hai_**, Negi-kun. I have something of a personal favor to ask of you" The dean said, "I have a friend who is in desperate need of a teacher at his school. I have agreed to transfer one of my teachers to him until he can hire another replacement. I would like that temporary teacher to be _you_." Negi breathed a silent sigh of relief; the dean just needed him to be an English teacher somewhere else for a while.

"Where would I be going?" Negi asked.

"England" The dean replied simply.

"_WHAT!?! _England!?" Negi exclaimed, but then realized he had spoken out of turn "Uhh… I mean, I'm going back to Europe?"

"Only temporarily Negi-kun" The dean reassured "You will instruct their Defense against the Dark Arts class."

It was certainly a switch from teaching Japanese school girls English, but Negi had studied quite a bit about how to fight the Dark Arts in his spare time, so he could probably teach them a little. But then something else occurred to Negi. "Sir, what about my class?"

"Takamichi-kun will substitute for you until your return" The dean explained as he motioned to his left and leaning against the wall was Takamichi 'Death Specs' Takahata, the teacher Negi had replaced when Negi came to Mahora. Takamichi was tall, with short hair grey hair, a brown suit and glasses. Negi and Takamichi had been friends since Negi was a small child in Wales, but they barely saw each other.

"Hey, Negi-kun" Takahata said with a casual salute.

"You will have 3 days to prepare to leave" The dean informed "I already have transportation ready for you, but for the most part, you will be unchaperoned. Is this understood?"

"Yes sir!" Negi replied. The child teacher felt a fresh sense of determination. He was pumped and ready to head to London on his next adventure.

***

By the time it came for the child teacher to leave; Negi's excitement had faded but not disappeared. He found himself a little sad that he would be away from 3-A for so long and he knew that they would also miss him. When Asuna heard the news, she was conflicted with her worry for Negi and her joy of her favorite teacher coming back to teach. Everyone in 3-A knew about Asuna's slight fetish for older men and she had a huge crush on Takahata-sensei, much to everyone's slight revulsion.

Negi had donned his old travel cloak and his backpack with all his possessions, Konoka had also provided him with a suitcase for his extra clothes. "Asuna-san" Negi said, "I'll be sure to write. Don't worry about me."

"Every time you say that, something bad usually happens" Asuna said flatly, "Are you sure you have everything?" Negi nodded and Chamo, Negi's "pet" ermine hopped on his shoulder. "Don't worry _ane-san_!" the white ermine said as he put on his brown travelling fedora "I'll take good care of Negi-Aniki***!"

"That doesn't make me feel any better, pervin' ermine!___" _Asuna said, somehow even more flatly___. _

Most normal people would freak out when they saw a talking weasel, but by now it was nothing special for Asuna. And besides, Albert Chamomile was no normal ermine; he was an ermine fairy and a confidant to Negi. Though he had the tendency to cause more trouble then he solved.

Konoka also was there to say goodbye "Make sure you eat right and stay warm, Negi-kun!"

"I will!" Negi said. He turned to Asuna and gave a short, ceremonial Japanese bow, "_Sayonara_, Asuna-san." She only gave a short nod and quietly said "Just be careful". Negi nodded back and turned to go. As he did, Asuna opened her mouth to say more, but couldn't think of anything else to say, so she closed it again. Negi descended the stairs down to the ground level, and a minute later, Asuna and Konoka heard the dorm door slam. Little did they know that throughout the dorm, 27 other sets of ears were listening to their favorite sensei leave for a distant land. Most were sad to see him go, at least one was devastated and one was glad for a breather from the weirdness of having a 9 year old as their teacher. And they all knew that without Negi-Sensei, class 3-A just wouldn't be the same.

***

As the young mage strolled across the quiet campus, he drank in the sights, smells and sounds of Mahora, because he wouldn't be back for at least a month. It was after dark, so few students were about, but the windows of the dorm buildings shone like mismatched compound eyes on the buildings. The nights were warm in Japan; not like England, where the nights got cold and wet. And the distant buzz of the city had a nearly hypnotizing effect.

"It sure will be nice to go back home, huh Aniki?" Chamo interrupted Negi's thoughts as he walked.

"We won't be exactly home, Chamo-kun"

"Home enough, Aniki. Home _enough_"

"_Hai_" Negi said, a little sad, "Home enough".

"Getting homesick already, _boya_****?" Negi jerked in alarm and Chamo's tail went bushy as a deadly voice crept down their spines like a snake. Negi spun around, and leaning placidly on a light post was Evangeline. Student # 26, Evangeline A.K. McDowell appeared to be one of the youngest members; but her short stature, long, light-blonde hair, and cat-like blue eyes hid her true identity, a centuries old vampire and powerful dark mage. She had been trapped within the Mahora campus years ago by a curse done by Nagi Springfield, Negi's father. Obviously this created some initial animosity between Eva and Negi, especially since Evangeline needed to suck the blood of a member of Nagi's family to break the curse. But, ultimately, they managed to solve their differences in a civilized way (if you call an epic magical battle 'civilized').

"Uh…" Negi sputtered, still a little taken aback by Evangeline's sudden appearance "Um… _Konbanwa_*****, Master."

"So_, boya_… The student is off to teach some magic?" Evangeline mused "Maybe you should try to emulate _my_ teaching style on your snotty wizard students"

Negi gulped, remembering _exactly _what his Master's training was like. Sometime after making their truce, Negi asked the vampire to train him in magic. She had agreed, but also seemed to use the training as a chance to occasionally beat the living hell out of him. Her training was horrifyingly intense, yet he never complained, always eager to grow stronger.

"Umm… I think it would be better if I were to teach them my own way" Negi said nervously, hoping Evangeline wouldn't take offense and decide to try to make him into a withered skeleton. But the vampire simply scoffed, "I suppose it's better for you to have your own teaching style; it'll help your independence". Evangeline gave a toothy smile, and if he didn't know it was a crescent moon tonight, Negi could swear her canines seemed longer than usual. "But if you teach them half as well as I teach you, you'll have those kids ready to kill in no time."

_Kill!?_ Negi thought, "Umm… _Arigato Gozaimasu******_, Master. I'll-"

"Stop sniveling and hurry up, _boya_" Evangeline interrupted sharply, "Or you're going to miss your car to the airport." Negi gave a start, realizing she was right "Oh! Right! Umm… _Sayonara_, Master! I'll be sure to keep up my training!"

As Negi ran off, a tall, long green haired girl came from the shadows behind the diminutive dark mage. As she emerged beneath the orange glow of the street light, her features became immediately evident: doll-like fingers, plated knee caps, and a pair of antennas coming out the sides of her head. When she spoke, it was in a quiet, expressionless voice, "Mistress, are you envious that he is going to England and you are not?"

"No" Evangeline said flatly as she folded her arms, "I have history in England. History better left dead, Chachamaru."

"Acknowledged, Mistress" The robot said. Thought her eyes and face betrayed little; as she saw Negi round a corner and disappear from sight, her chest-mounted hydraulic power core gave a shudder and the gynoid knew she would miss Negi Springfield's smiling face.

Translation Notes:

( * -Sensei: Teacher, can be an honorofic or a title

** _Hai_: "Yes"

*** Aniki: Big brother {Chamo calls Negi this because of his size, not because of an age difference}

**** _Boya_: Little boy, Evangeline's pet name for negi

***** _Konbanwa_: "Good evening"

_****** Arigato Gozaimasu: _An extremely polite "thank you")_  
_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter III**

Negi had barely been gone for 6 hours before Asuna was awoken by a loud tapping on their window. Asuna tried to just turn over and ignore it, but it continued, incessantly. With an angry sigh, Asuna jumped from her bunk and went groggily over to the window. At first, she didn't see anything, but all signs of fatigue evaporated when she opened the window and a feathery bird flew into their dorm room. Asuna screamed, waking up Konoka who hit her head on the bunk above her. Asuna then tried frantically to swat the bird out of the air, screaming obscenities as she flailed. Suddenly the door burst open and in a flash, Setsuna Sakurazaki arrived, sword drawn.

Setsuna was a swordsman… um… swordsperson of the Shinmei Ryu, an elite samurai organization, and she put her skills to use protecting Konoka. She quickly assessed the situation, and leapt forward, snatching the owl from the air with deadly accuracy. "_Daijoubudeska_, Ojou-sama?" Setsuna asked Konoka.

"Set-Chan!" Konoka exclaimed still holding her throbbing head, "I'm ok".

"Yeah, I'm fine too" Asuna said dryly. The owl in Setsuna's hands was thrashing around wildly, trying to escape. All three of their heads snapped up at the sound of footsteps. Thinking quickly, Asuna grabbed the owl from Setsuna's hands and put it on the couch, stuffing one of their pillows on it. A moment later, the doorway was flooded with people as the other girls who inhabited the dorm came to see what the matter was.

At the head of the group was the_ lincho_, or Class President, Ayaka Yukihiro. Clad in her pink night gown, her angry, tired green eyes, unkempt blonde hair and eye bags made for a truly horrifying scene this late at night. "Asuna-san!" Ayaka yelled, "What are you doing screaming at two in the morning!?"

"Maybe you should turn down _your_ voice, _lincho_" Asuna shot back, "I think there were some students at the college who didn't hear you!"

"_My_ voice isn't the issue here, Kagurazaka!" Ayaka retorted angrily as the two got in each other's faces.

Asuna and Ayaka had been bitter rivals ever since the day Asuna arrived in Mahora Academy in elementary school. Yet they also had a strange friendship that was essentially a love/hate relationship. But before they could continue their argument, Konoka stepped between the two, putting her arms up defensively to stop Ayaka. "Asuna was just having a nightmare" Konoka said, "And then Set-Chan heard and came running. Everything's fine, really. _Gomen_,_ lincho_."

Just as Ayaka opened her mouth to say more, a hand came on her shoulder. The tired blonde looked over and her roommate, Chizuru Naba was holding her shoulder "C'mon, Ayaka" Chizuru said tiredly but kindly, "No sense in arguing this late at night".

Chizuru had a kind and wise air about her, even if she was sometimes a little strange. Regardless, the Class Pres. saw her point and just nodded to Asuna, before she turned back to everyone else "Everyone! Back to your rooms!" Somewhat disappointed at not being able to see Asuna and Ayaka fight, the girls dispersed.

Closing the door, Konoka gave a sigh of relief.

"Nice save, Konoka!" Asuna said with a thumbs-up.

Konoka smiled and nodded, then turned to Setsuna "Thank you for helping us catch that owl, Set-chan." Setsuna merely muttered a return thanks and looked away, blushing slightly. Konoka and Setsuna had been friends since they were small children, but an incident where Setsuna had been unable to save Konoka from nearly drowning made her take a more impersonal approach to her guard duties, feeling her friendship with Konoka might hinder her ability to protect her. But ever since the other incident in Kyoto, the two had grown closer.

Asuna went to the couch, and fished out the owl, holding it upside down by one talon "So, what's a wild owl doing flying into our room?"

"Asuna-san" Setsuna said "I don't think its wild"

"What makes you think that?"

"Because it has a message around its leg."

Asuna looked down and saw that the samurai girl was indeed right. Konoka went over to the owl and carefully took the message off its leg. "Asuna, since it's tame, maybe you could let him go? He looks like he's going to be sick".

"OH!" Asuna exclaimed, letting go of the bird. The owl flew over to Konoka and landed on her shoulder, and gave a soft hoot.

"You're welcome!" Konoka said with a smile. The owl took off from Konoka's shoulder and landed on Asuna's arm. The red head smiled in wonder, but it was cut short by her grimace as the owl painfully nipped her wrist with its sharp beak. "You stupid feather duster! I'll-!" But the owl just took off, gliding out the window. Asuna raced to the window and threw the closest available object at the bird as it flew off, but the owl managed to dodge in time.

After a few minutes of calming Asuna down, the three gathered around the glass coffee table and read the message:

_Dear Professor Springfield, _

_While I'm sure Konoemon has told you all the details of your job here, I fear he may not know the conditions you will be teaching under. Just a small thing really: we are at war, though our government refuses to recognize it. Times in England are becoming much darker. I fear that as a teacher here at Hogwarts, you may encounter danger as a result of this approaching darkness. Be wary, Negi. That is all I can ask of you._

_I have sent a friend to pick you up from the London airport; I'm sure you'll find him quite easily. Do not be alarmed at his appearance; I would trust him with my life, and I have done so many times. We can discuss the particulars over cups of tea and some lemon drops later if you would like. There is really a great tale I could tell you involving this scar I have over my knee, but I digress. Ignoring this delightful tangent that my thoughts have taken, do note my current status of being alive, so it should be apparent that my trust in Hagrid was well placed. Hagrid can take you safely to any destination you desire, but you must be at King's Cross at 11:00 am, to catch the train at Platform 9 and three quarters. Don't be late, and don't worry, Hagrid will explain everything. _

_Sincerely, _

_Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore_

_Headmaster, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

"Wow" Konoka admired, "Long name".

"If this letter is accurate" Setsuna said with concern in her voice, "there's no telling what Negi-sensei might run into in England".

"And it says right here: 'you may find yourself in danger'. And if this letter was meant for him, Negi-kun doesn't know what to expect" Konoka cried. "We need to warn him somehow!"

"Does he have his cell phone?" Setsuna asked.

"_Iie! _Grandpa told him not to take any electronics!" At that point, Konoka realized that in all this, Asuna hadn't said a word. She was still looking at the letter, re-reading it with intense focus. Konoka noticed a bead of sweat on her best friend's brow, "What's wrong Asuna?"

"…Pack some things, Konoka" Asuna said as she stood up, "We're going to find Negi!"

"Asuna-san!" Setsuna interrupted, also standing up, "We can't! He's probably already on his way to London. How will we find him?"

"_We'll_ go to London!"

"How?" inquired Konoka, genuinely curious.

"I don't know, OK?" The ministra cried as she hastily grabbed a duffle bag and began stuffing clothes into it "All I know is that we're going!"

"But Asuna!" Konoka exclaimed, "What about our classes? Takahata-sensei is coming back

tomorrow!"

At the sound of her former teacher's name, Asuna froze. She had totally forgotten in all the excitement. And suddenly she found herself in a quandary: She could go and save Negi's bacon, while missing time with her crush, or she could go to class tomorrow and whatever happens to Negi will happen. She didn't want Negi to get hurt, but she also wanted to be with Takahata-sensei. But after a minute, she sighed, because she knew in her heart exactly what she was going to do.


	4. Chapter 4

(_Sorry for the long hiatus. I really don't have any excuses other then laziness, but I'll try to be better in the future. BTW, if you know which anime I'm referencing in this chapter, give yourself a cookie_.)

**Chapter IV**

The London Heathrow Airport was crowded, as usual, and considering his height, it was difficult for Negi to navigate through the forest of people's legs. But after retrieving his luggage, the mage made his way to the lobby area, hoping for an escort of some kind. Sure enough, a ways off he spied a gigantic man with a wild looking bush of hair on his head that seemed to merge to make his head hair and beard into one snarled mess. He was twice as tall as an average man and three times as wide. He also held a sign up with his name, albeit spelled incorrectly. He approached the man "Excuse me sir, are you looking for me?"

When the gigantic man looked down and saw Negi, he gave a start, probably because he hadn't seen the small teacher approach. "I'm 'upposed ter be lookin' fer a bloke named 'Springfield'".

"That's me!" Negi replied, "I'm the new teacher!"

The man stared for a moment, before muttering "Galloping Gargoyles! Well, stranger folk have signed up fer the job. So!" he said a little louder, "I'm Rubeus Hagrid, but e'ryone jus' calls me 'Hagrid'. I'm the keeper o' keys and grounds at Hogwarts".

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Negi replied with a smile, "My name is Negi Springfield… Um… Negi with a '_g_'…" Hagrid had misspelled his name 'Neji'.

***

_Meanwhile… In a different anime…_

***

"_ACHOO!_"

"Bless you Neji!"

"_Arigato_*, Tenten. _Lee!_ Even _you_ can't do that many push-ups! Let's go inside and rest!"

"Put I'm so close! Only 2,456 push-ups left! 2,455! 2,454! _2,453!_"

Neji just sighed.

"There, there Neji"

***

"Oh!" Hagrid said as he looked down at his sign and quickly stuffed it into a rubbish bin.

Negi felt a strange rush of nostalgia all of a sudden. His mother tongue was coming back to him. He had spent 3 weeks studying Japanese for his role at Mahora and had become very fluent in a very short amount of time. And then he spent months speaking exclusively Japanese to his students and the other staff. At first, speaking English again had been cumbersome, like using a tool long since put down. But now he had fully reverted back.

"Um… Hagrid? Where will we go now?" Negi inquired. The Hogwarts gamekeepers looked at him questionably "Didn't ya get Dumbledore's message?" Negi just shook his head, confused "Damn! Erm… Alrigh', it's not so bad. I'll fill yeh in."

***

As Hagrid filled Negi in, the two walked to a nearby station and took a train towards the heart of London. Sometime later, as the two sat down in the train, Negi absorbed what Hagrid was telling him about the Dark Lord who terrorized Europe 15 years ago, his fall at the hands of the infant Harry Potter, and his recent, secret return to power. Negi was profoundly shocked when Hagrid told him of the Ministry of Magic's reaction to the news. After all, if the Headmaster of Mahora was to hear about a dangerous dark mage running around on the campus (Well, any dark mage he _didn't _know personally) he wouldn't just bury his head in the sand just because he didn't want to hear it. "Well, there must be something being done about it!" Negi cried, but Hagrid shushed him. "You can't just let this Dark Lord take over everything" Negi continued, whispering.

"We're doin' all we can" Hagrid said "But the Ministry's snooping around fer people tryin' ter start trouble and shut'in em up."

Before Negi could ask more questions, the voice telling them the destinations told them they had arrived somewhere that was, presumably, their stop. Hagrid stood up "Before I take ya to the train, Dumbledore tol' me ter take ya where ya could get yer teaching stuff". They got off, with Negi wondering where in London they could get magical 'teaching stuff'.

***

2 hours later, Negi and Hagrid emerged from "the Leaky Cauldron", now carrying extra bags. Despite all Negi knew of magic, he never would have expected such an amazing sight behind such a sad looking pub. Hidden behind a secret gate, lay Diagon Alley; the wizard shopping center. It took Negi 10 minutes to get his head back and realize he was there on business. Negi got his spare British pounds and Japanese yen for the wizarding currency: galleons, sickles and knuts. The child teacher and his gigantic guide went from shop to shop; buying text books, quills and ink, new robes, and potion ingredients. At one point, Chamo came out of Negi's pocket and asked for some money to buy some cigarettes on sale in a smoke shop, much to Hagrid's amazement.

Now on their way to the King's Cross train station, Negi had his nose in "The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self Protection" by Quentin Trimble, reading through the pages at lightning speed. Chamo sat on Negi's shoulder, chatting with Hagrid; they were taking a back alley, so the odds of being seen by mundanes, or "muggles" as the wizarding community called them, were low. As Negi was speed-reading through a section on creatures called Grindylows, he suddenly felt a disturbance. He and Chamo both perked their heads up. "Aniki" Chamo said cautiously.

"I feel it Chamo" Negi said closing his book. There was another magical presence nearby, and closing fast; it seemed to be all around them. But Hagrid simply looked confused.

"ANIKI! THERE!" Chamo yelled, pointing. Negi and Hagrid turned just as someone in a dark blue cloak and hood seemed to simply melt into existence out of nowhere. Suddenly about 10 or 11 others joined him, surrounding the teacher and the half-giant. They drew wizard wands and advanced on the two. Though he tried to see who they were, Negi couldn't make out their faces behind their darkened hoods. Hagrid stepped in front, his fists up, ready to fight "Who'ver you lot ar', get!" Their response was to raise their wands and fire blue-white beams of light at Hagrid. But the beams proved ineffective, merely bouncing off him like so rubber balls. With a great roar, Hagrid drove at the wizards, like a mole-skin covered freight train. One of the attackers was too slow, and was hit full on and sent flying back into the brick wall. They tried to get some distance from him, continuing to fire spells; but the jets of light only seemed to daze and irritate him, as he turned and swung a vicious back fist, knocking another blue-clad wizard into a heap of rubbish. The assailant seemed to focus on Hagrid, seeing him as the bigger threat. But that suited the young mage just fine. "_Rastel Maskil Magistar!_" Negi chanted, activating his magic as he grasped his staff. "_Undecimis Spirtitus Aeriales! Vinculum facti inimicum captent!_" Some of the wizards heard Negi chanting, but were too late to stop him "_SAGITTA MAGICA, AER CAPTURAE!_" Negi thrust his hand out and a dozen trails of bright, wind-based magic burst forth and wrapped themselves around most of the attacking wizards, and then the beams anchored themselves to the ground around their targets, making the enemies unable to move. With only 3 wizards left unharmed, they apparently decided to cut and run. In a series of loud pops, the wizards disappeared; even the ones bound my Negi's magic arrows.

"Impressive, that" Hagrid said as he went back to Negi's side. His overcoat had some scorch marks where the spells had hit him, and he seemed a little out of breath, but other than that seemed OK.

"Who were they?" Negi asked as he put his wand back on his pack.

"No ruddy clue'" Hagrid said "They weren' Death Eaters; they'd a' jus' killed us if they were"

"Maybe they were just muggers" Chamo ventured.

"I don't think so" Negi said "Why did they all have the same cloaks? They seemed too organized to be thieves"

"Dumbledore'll look inta' this. We'll fin' out who they ar'."

"Aniki!" Chamo exclaimed "The train!"

"Ah!" Negi cried as he retrieved a small, clock on a chain to look at the time "We have 20 minutes!"

"C'mon!" Hagrid said as he took off. Negi had to sprint to keep up with his gigantic foot-falls.

( * _Arigato_: A regular "thank you"

_Who were those mysterious attackers? Why were they trying to stop Negi? Find out next time, whenever I update next!_ )


	5. Chapter 5

(Hey Everyone. As I said before, I'm going to blend a few of the Negima series to get maximum results. This is the chapter when it happens. For those who only read the manga, in "Negima!?" the Narutaki twins know his secret. Please, no "That character shouldn't be there" comments. Other then that; read, enjoy, comment, and don't flame.)

**Chapter V**

Negi, Chamo, and Hagrid got to King's Cross with barely 10 minutes to spare. They stopped to take a breather at the entrance. "Right" Hagrid said as he stood back up "Ya can get there the res' o' the way by yer'self."

"Hagrid?" Negi asked "Which platform do I go to?"

"9 and three quarters" It took Negi a minute to figure that out, and then he just gave Hagrid a curious look.

"9 and three quarters?" Chamo asked, poking his head out of Negi's pocket "What the hell does that mean?"

"There's a magic barrier between 9 an' 10 that'll take yeh ter 9 and three quarters. That's where the Hogwart's Express is" He squatted down low and pointed with his long arm "Righ' there, see?"

Negi stood on his tip-toes and looked down Hagrid's arm like it was a gun sight and saw it go to the concrete barrier between the two platforms. It looked quite solid. But Negi trusted Hagrid, feeling he wouldn't lie to him. "I understand" Negi said as he got off his tip-toes.

"Right" Hagrid said as he stood up to his full, gigantic height "I'm teh leave ya to it."

Negi blinked "You aren't coming with me?"

"Nope" Hagrid said "Train's for students only, yer a special case. Besides, the danger's past. You'll be fine from here"

Negi nodded in understanding "Ok, goodbye"

"See yer at Hogwarts!"

And with that, they parted ways, if only for a while.

***

"Do you see him, Asuna?" Konoka asked. The red haired student poked her head out around the corner at the King's Cross terminal, looking for a short kid with pink hair and glasses. Asuna and her two friends had managed to scrounge up enough money for some plane tickets the night they had received Negi's owl. Asuna had to call in a lot of favors and spent most of her free-time money from her paper route. The trio of girls had duffle bags over their shoulders, full to the brim with clothes and other essentials.

"Man! Where is he!?" Asuna muttered angrily.

Konoka and Setsuna also poked their heads around the corner. "Did we miss Negi-kun's train?" Konoka asked.  
"_Iea, Ojou-sama_" Setsuna replied "There's still about 10 minutes left"

"With this many people, finding Negi-bozu be very difficult, _aru*_" said a new head that poked around the corner to help see. Asuna withdrew and looked back with a groan at all the people who had managed, by hook or crook, to tag along.

Immediately behind Asuna was Kū Fei, a blond haired, Chinese exchange student who was well versed in Chinese martial arts, but rather slow of mind. Behind her, was Kazumi Asakura, the eager, scarlet haired paparazzo of Mahora. Floating over the journalist's shoulder was Sayo Aisaka, a ghost from Negi's classroom who was a good friend to Kazumi. Behind her was Kaede Nagase, Mahora's resident laidback ninja-in-training. Waiting behind Kaede were the short, pink haired Narutaki twins, Fuka and Fumika. Behind them, carrying her guitar case over her shoulder was Mana Tatsumiya, a dark skinned, serious mercenary girl and gun kata expert. Behind her, looking through her large, round glasses at a device at a device she was fiddling with that clicked like a Geiger counter, was Satomi Hakase, the mad scientist of class 3-A. And at the very back were the Library trio: the bespecled gossip-monger, Haruna Saotome, the diminutive but intelligent Yue Ayase, and the shy, helmet-haired bookworm, Nodoka Miyazaki.

In retrospect, Asuna couldn't believe she let all these girls come with her on her mission. 'At least all these girls know Negi's a mage and they all paid their own way' Asuna thought reassuringly 'And thank God _lincho_ didn't find out about this'.

"There!" Konoka whispered, pointing. Instantly, all 14 heads poked around the corner, looking for their English teacher. Sure enough, where Konoka was pointing, they saw Negi's distinguished hair heading towards the barrier between platform 9 and 10.

"C'mon!" Asuna said, but as she went out, a large group of eager passengers came out of platform 10, and obscured their view of Negi. By the time the girls shouldered their way through the crowd, they only caught the barest glimpse of the mage; as he _walked through the wall_. Asuna blinked, but Negi-bozu was still gone "Where did he go?" the red-head asked aloud to on one in particular. "He was there a minute ago…" Konoka said unsurely.

"It seems he just disappeared,_ de gozaru**_" Kaede remarked.

"Hmmm…" Hakase said as she pulled out a special seeing glass and lifted it up to her right eye "There's something strange about this wall. It's like there's some kind of energy coming off of it, disturbing my scanners!"

"It must be some kinda trick wall!" Asuna said as she punched her fist into her hand "If it's a wall, it can be broken down!"

Fortunately for the girls, as well as the magical community at large, a pair of trolleys crashed into one another a ways off. And the ruckus of the luggage clattering, as well as the shouting match that ensued, made sure that no Muggles were paying attention when a girl with a pair of long red pig tails give a battle cry as she went at a concrete wall with a flying kick and passed right through.

***

Negi was busy piling his luggage where everyone else was, when he suddenly heard a great crash and whirled around. A girl had apparently flown through the barrier and smashed painfully against a trolley full of bags. Suddenly a wizard with a badge near the barrier saw Asuna, gave a start, cried "Muggle!" and drew his wand. Asuna regained herself and looked up just in time for this wizard to jab his wand in her face. But he didn't cast a spell, only stared in amazement. Asuna looked down and realized she'd landed in such a position that she was flashing her infamous bear panties. Her face flushed red and she kicked the wizard in the face, sending him flying "PERVERT!!"

The wizard sent flying as well as the shout attracted the attention of more wizards with official looking badges, just as the rest of the girls came through the barrier. "Making friends as usual, I see Asuna-san" Yue remarked tonelessly as the wizards lined up with wands pointed. Those trained in self-defense got ready for a fight, but suddenly Negi jumped between the two groups "Wait!"

"NEGI!" Asuna cried as she got up. So glad was she to see her teacher that she ran over and hugged him before the mage could get another word out. Suddenly, her embrace turned into a back-breaking bear hug. "_Asuna-san_…!" Negi groaned, reverting to Japanese "_Nani_***-?"

"_Baka****!_ You made us fly all the way here to England, because you were too stupid to wait for a stupid letter from a stupid _bird!_"

Negi struggled to get some breathing room, and turned slightly to the wizards and told them in English "They're OK. They're my friends!" One of the wizards opened his mouth to say something, but the train whistle blew suddenly "The train!" Negi cried, and then reverted to Japanese again "Asuna-san! I have to be on that train!"

"Then let's go!" Asuna said as she put Negi under her arm like a football and ran for the train. The wizards went to yell after them, but were flattened by the girls as they ran past, their bags swinging with their movements.

"We have to get on the train!" The Narutaki twins cried simultaneously.

"_Gomenesai!_" Kaede said to the flattened wizards over her shoulder as she ran "We'll be more careful next time, _de gozaru!_" The team managed to load onto the train at the last second, just as the scarlet locomotive took off. As they left the station, Negi saw a big black dog running after the train, barking.

(* -Aru: Doesn't really mean anything. It's just something some people add at the end of their sentences. It's just a way some people talk.

** -De Gozaru: Same thing as the last one

*** Nani?: What?

**** Baka!: Idiot!)


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter VI**

As the Hogwarts Express rolled on, Negi and his students found themselves in the hallway that ran the length of the train. "Asuna-san, Konoka-san, everyone; what are you doing here!?" Negi cried in a whisper, a hint of panic in his voice, "You should all be back at Mahora!"

"You missed getting this letter, so I came to give it to you" Asuna said, holding said letter out.

"I had to go with Asuna!" Konoka said, smiling, "She's my best friend!"

"I go wherever I must to protect _Ojou-sama_" Setsuna said seriously.

"I'm not going to miss this scoop!" Kazumi said, excitedly, holding up her camera "'_Local English teacher transfers to Magic school_'? This has Pulitzer written all over it!"

"I'm following Asakura-san" Sayo said as she appeared.

"A magic castle in the middle of Scotland that no one's ever studied using proper equipment or scientific method?" Satomi said as she adjusted her glasses, "There's a zero percent possibility of me passing up a chance like this!"

"Vacation!" Kaede, Mana, Ku Fei, and the Twins said in unison, with varying degrees of excitement.

"Ummm…" Nodoka muttered. "We…"

"When we heard there was a magic school, we decided to tag along, to learn from the school and help our magical abilities grow" Yue said quickly. She turned and flashed a small, rare smile at Nodoka, who nodded in return. The real reason Nodoka had wanted to go along was because she had a terrible crush on Negi, and couldn't bear the idea of being separated from him or, God forbid, he finds a girl he likes more, without Nodoka even having a chance to prove her worth. And Yue and Haruna, well aware of her crush, were tagging along to help Nodoka.

As Negi sighed, Chamo poked his head out of the mage's jacket pocket "Relax, _Aniki_" he reassured, "Having all these girls here won't be so bad".

"Uh, _no!_" Asuna said "The second this train stops, we're taking the first one back!"

"Do we have to, _desu_?" Fumika asked sullenly.

"Yes!" Asuna exclaimed angrily, "We have a responsibility to attend class when our teacher expects us to!" The other girls all just gave her sideways looks, knowing she really only wanted to go back so she could be with Takahata-sensei again.

"Excuse me" said a voice behind them. They turned to a plump witch, with a slightly disapproving look "I'm going to need to ask you to get into some compartments for the trip, dearies" Most of the girls looked at her, dumb founded. Though Negi liked to think he ran his class well, very few of them could speak English fluently. But Konoka replied in somewhat terse English "Thank you, we will" and smiled. When the witch turned to leave, the girls split up into groups and went off to find compartments to sit in.

***

Things were not looking well for Harry Potter; in fact they royally sucked. On his way to Hogwarts, his favorite place in the world, only to be surrounded by people who thought he was a liar and a prima donna. Ron and Hermione were off with the rest of the prefects, and would probably be there for a while. His only companionship at the moment was Ginny, Neville and Luna Lovegood, still engrossed in her upside-down issue of _The Quibbler_. Suddenly, the compartment door opened and some people he'd never met before showed up. There were 4 of them; a 10 year old in a travel cloak with glasses and a long staff, a girl with hair as red as a Weasley in two long pig tails, another girl with back-length brown hair and a kind face, and a serious looking girl with what seemed to be a long sword. There was a long silence, in which the two parties took each other in. "Umm…" The boy said "Mind if we sit here?"

"No, it's ok" Harry said as he scooted over to make room. The boy sat next to Neville, across from Harry and the red headed girl sat next to the boy. The other two sat next to Harry. There was a somewhat tense silence as everyone sat down. Setsuna, who had her eyes closed, sensed someone looking at her and opened her eyes to look over at Luna, who was eyeing her with her wide, pale eyes.

"That's a nice katana" the witch said in a dreamy voice that threw Setsuna off.

"Umm... Thank you" Setsuna said in English.

"Can it cut through an Iron Skinned Snugflax?"

"Huh?"

"They have very tough armor, but you look strong; I think you could do it. You're not a student" Luna said, totally changing the subject.

"Well… No" Setsuna said hesitantly.

"So why are you on this train?"

Fortunately, the confused samurai was saved from answering by a cry of surprise. While they had been talking, Chamo had wiggled out of Negi's pocket and rested on the window sill, watching the trees flash by as the sky grew darker. Neville, thinking him merely a pet, reached out and petted Chamo, making the ermine jump back "Hey! Watch the merchandise!" Neville had jumped at being yelled at, as had Harry and Ginny, but Luna just turned curiously.

"You talk!" Neville cried.

"So what? You know about magic, don't ya?" Chamo replied

"Even most magic animals can't talk!"

"Well, I'm obviously not most magical animals, now am I?"

"Who are you?" Ginny asked.

"The name's Chamo, don't wear it out!" the pervin' ermine said with a thumbs up and a wink. The Chamo pulled his pack of cigs from Negi's pocket.

"Chamo!" Negi said indignantly "Not in here!"

"Alright, alright" Chamo said, hopping down to the floor. "Maybe I can find some other a quiet place to enjoy these" Chamo managed to open the sliding compartment door enough to squeeze out. The bunch of them, mostly Negi and the wizards, chatted for about an hour until Ron and Hermione arrived. After some general introductions were made, everyone switched some seats and sat down. Pleasantries continued until, suddenly the door slid open again. "My my, Potter" an all too familiar drawling voice said "The company you keep just gets worse every year, doesn't it?"

Harry and the other wizards gave Draco Malfoy glares, but Negi and his friends found themselves somewhat taken aback by Malfoy's remark. Malfoy was Harry's constant nemesis at Hogwarts; a slick, arrogant rich-boy from a bigoted family and a taste for verbal cruelty. He was, as ever, flanked by his large henchmen, Crabbe and Goyle. They were both big, stupid and loved to beat up people: perfect bodyguards.

"Get out Malfoy!" Harry said angrily.

"Oh? Giving me orders? You better watch it Potter, I'm a prefect now and I might give you detention for that kind of behavior" Malfoy pointed to his shiny prefect badge with a smirk. As Harry glared, Malfoy gave Negi a sideways glance, "You don't want to set a bad example for your first-year friend, do you?"

Harry opened his mouth to yell, but was cut off by Asuna, who stood up angrily. "You know, it's a real shame; when you first walked in, you looked pretty smart. Then you had to open your mouth and sound stupid!"

Unfortunately, this would have been a much more effective insult if Asuna hadn't yelled it in Japanese. Malfoy, rather than be intimidated, smirked broader "What's the matter? Can't speak my language? Guess you're not that smart. I'll speak slowly. I think you're on the wrong train. As a gentleman, I'll help you leave."

Asuna's grades in English were abysmal, but she knew enough to know when she was being insulted. Her eyes got that dangerous look and she clenched her fists and teeth as Malfoy's cronies stepped forward, cracking their knuckles menacingly.

"Asuna-san…" Negi said, about to ask her to back off, but he was cut off as Setsuna stood up and got between the Slytherins and the angry ministra. "Please leave" Setsuna said calmly in English.

"Or what?" Malfoy sneered.

"Or Aniki is gonna kick your ass, you blonde bozo!" Piped up a new voice. Everyone looked down to find Chamo had entered the compartment under the Slytherin's feet. Malfoy recoiled, wearing a look of shock, as a bad memory from last year involving slim, white animals resurfaced. "Ahh! Kill it!" Malfoy cried. Goyle raised his foot menacingly over the ermine and went to crush the pervert under his shoes. But as Chamo screamed like a little girl, the end of Setsuna's sheathed katana jabbed Goyle hard in the stomach, the impact nearly knocking him out of the compartment altogether.

"GET OUT!" The girl shouted as she pointed her sword in a threatening manner. Crabbe awkwardly raised his fist, not knowing what else to do but get ready to fight, and looked at his boss. But Malfoy simply gave a parting sneer and left, his two lackeys quickly following in his wake. Setsuna closed the door and sat down, then seemed to realize everyone was looking at her, "I apologize for that outburst" Setsuna said with a small bow. "Wicked…" Neville said with an awed voice.

"Who were they?" Negi asked.

"Malfoy" Harry said, in a voice that sounded as if he was describing a bad fungus.

"And his pet gorillas, Crabbe and Goyle" Ginny added.

"He's mean because he's a rich, pure-blooded, racist snob" Neville explained.

"Ah" Negi said, "I'll be sure to tread lightly around him".

"I could have taken all three of those losers" Asuna grumbled, gritting her teeth at the thought of Malfoy's sneering face. Konoka just patted her best friend on the back, trying to calm her down.

***

Later, after Ron and Hermione had joined their now rather cramped compartment, they spent a great deal of time sharing the story of Goyle's epic defeat at the hands of Setsuna. Besides this little altercation, nothing of note occurred. An hour later, the Hogwarts students were all dressed up in their black robes. Negi also threw on a green robe he had had since his time in Merdiana Magic School_. _When the train came to a halt, Negi and his students departed from his soon-to-be students.

At the Hogsmeade Station, Negi would have liked nothing more than to blend in with the crowd and just go where he needed to go. But when you have more than a dozen excitable, strange looking, improperly dressed middle school girls in tow, all hopes of subtlety are shattered. As Negi herded the girls onward, he caught a glimpse of a tall, authoritative looking woman with square glasses and a strict expression. The young mage approached her, hoping for some direction. But when she saw him, before he could even say anything, she goggled at him. Or, to be more accurate, his entourage of young girls, most of whom were still chatting in Japanese. "Err…" Negi said, hoping to draw her attention, "I'm the new professor, Negi Springfield. Can you tell me where it is that I'm supposed to go?"

Though she still seemed to be a little stiff, the witch replied after a beat; "I am Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts. I've been waiting for you."

(Next Chapter: Negi meets his new Headmaster! Stay tuned!)


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter VII**

McGonagall was forced to magically enlarge the seats of the coach, so that she, Negi, and his wayward students could all fit into one carriage. It was a quiet ride, with the girls too busy gawking at the huge, looming castle as it drew closer. While all the other carriages followed the main road, the one containing Negi and McGonagall went off on an adjacent path. The carriage went around to the east side of the castle and stopped. McGonagall led the others out and went over to the wall. She counted the stone blocks from the ground next to a bush; 5 up and 2 across. "My name is Minerva McGonagall" She spoke in a clear voice to the block, "And my favorite color is magenta." Suddenly, the blocks began to shift and change, revealing a secret hallway. The girls were boggled. Negi was only amazed that such a complex spell could be activated with such a simple code-phrase. "This way Professor" McGonagall said as she headed in, "Ladies, you as well."

At the end of the twisty hallway was a spiral staircase. The only time Negi had ever seen so many stairs was in Library Island, back at Mahora Academy. By the time they'd climbed to the top, even the strongest among them were exhausted. Yet McGonagall wasn't even breathing hard. The group emerged from a hidden trap door behind a huge painting. "Dear God, this school gets worse every generation" a snooty voice said behind them as the painting closed. The girls and Negi whirled around to find the painting of several former teachers was looking back at them. "Ah!" Negi said in surprise "I've heard of paintings being bewitched to talk, but never actually seen them!"

Hakase drew a magnifying glass from her lab coat's inner pocket, looking at the painting up close. "Amazing!" the young scientist exclaimed, "The paint has been charmed to move, imitating free movement. I'd better write this down." But as Hakase pulled out her custom palm pilot to take notes down on, she noticed the screen was unresponsive. She tapped the screen irritably, "Inconceivable! My batteries were fully charged when I…!" Behind them, Professor McGonagall cleared her throat, expressing her impatience. The group continued on, with Hakase grumbling about building a _new _palm pilot. "You'll find that many of your Muggle electronics will not work on the school grounds" McGonagall clarified, "Cellphones, pagers, and the like aren't of any use here." Everyone except for Negi whipped out their cell phones, hoping they had misheard. Every single screen was totally blank, as if it had its battery removed. Some of the girls were nearly to tears, and Kazumi nearly started bawling when she realized her camera was useless. Sayo tried to pat the reporter on her back to comfort her, but her icy hand just passed through Kazumi, giving her chills. They arrived at a large, rather ugly looking gargoyle, which sprang to life and stepped aside when McGonagall said "Sugar Quills." Behind the gargoyle was a small doorway that housed a rising spiral staircase. A quick ride up it later, they arrived at a large door that read "Headmaster's Office". "Professor, come with me," McGonagall said, "The rest of you will stay here." Asuna opened her mouth to protest, but McGonagall gave her a severe look, and the red head closed her mouth.

Inside the office were dozens of paintings of snoozing people, as well as silver contraptions on every shelf and table. Behind a large desk sat a man unlike anybody Negi had ever met. He had a long silver beard, purple robes, and half moon glasses. He exuded a strange aura; one that calmed Negi and made him feel safe. His aura was also a testament to his magical powers, which Negi guessed was extraordinary. "Ah! You must be Professor Springfield" The man said, standing up "I am Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster at this fine school." He extended his hand and Negi shook it.

"It's a great honor to meet you Headmaster" Negi said.

"Before we went down to the start of year feast downstairs, I thought I would bring you up to speed on a few developments." Suddenly, the door opened and Asuna walked in. She began to speak in Japanese to the Headmaster, asking when the next available train was to go back to London. McGonagall came in with a furious look, but Dumbledore stopped her with a hand. He replied, in perfect Japanese, that the next train back was in December. Asuna's jaw dropped. But after a moment, she began to talk louder and faster than ever. Negi moved to calm her, but before he could, Dumbledore drew his wand and muttered "_Alingua_". Then, in mid-sentence, Asuna abruptly switched from speaking Japanese loudly, to speaking English loudly. "-expect us to just sit here in this castle, while our teachers are-!" Suddenly she stopped and clamped a hand over her mouth in shock. "Asuna…" Negi whispered in awe.

"There," the Headmaster said, "Being able to communicate with the students and teachers should make your stay far more pleasant."

Asuna turned to Negi, taking her hand off her mouth, "What just happened?"

"You're speaking English, Asuna." Negi told her.

"But my English sucks! How can I-? Ahh!" She clamped her hand over her mouth again, "I'm still doing it!" she cried in a muffled voice.

"Have no fear" Dumbledore said in calming voice, "We will do everything we can to make you comfortable. I'm afraid if these were normal circumstances, transporting you back home would be of little hassle. But the circumstances are distinctly not normal. In fact, they are quite dangerous. Now I must ask that, for now, return outside so I may speak with Professor Springfield." Asuna, still slightly dumbstruck at her newfound tongue, left quietly, McGonagall on her tail. "Now" Dumbledore said, "Where were we?"

***

Sometime later, as the Sorting Hat shouted that "Zeller, Rose" belonged to Hufflepuff, Harry's worry grew to a peak. Dumbledore had not appeared throughout the entire Sorting Ceremony. But, as if on cue, the moment the applause from the Hufflepuff table ceased, the main doors opened. And, in all his glory, Dumbledore strode in. Behind him were Professor McGonagall, and the strangest assortment of girls Harry had ever seen. Then Harry noticed the boy, Negi, from the train was on Dumbledore's opposite side. Loud whispers erupted from all the tables. One boy from Gryffindor table pointed at a girl ghost in a uniform; "Look, a ghost!" The ghost girl suddenly spun around with a terrified look "WHERE!?!" She cried. Laughter erupted from every house, and the girl, realizing they had been talking about her, buried her face in her hands. "Come, come, my dear." Nearly Headless Nick said as he floated over to her. At first she was scared, but she floated with Nicholas to where the other ghosts were gathered. Meanwhile, Dumbledore stood over his usual chair, raising his hands for silence. The other girls went around behind the teacher's table, nearly from sight, but the boy actually sat in a vacant chair at the table. "Welcome to our new students, welcome back to our old students. Before we begin our delicious feast, I must first introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher…"

"No way…" Hermione muttered.

"…Professor Negi Springfield."

The silence was deafening. Then whispers erupted again from every house, ranging from curiosity to outrage. "Professor Springfield was transferred here from a Muggle academy in Japan, though he was originally born in Wales. He may seem like an unusual choice, but I can assure you all he is well qualified. I expect you all to treat him with the respect that behooves any member of the staff. We will also play host to a number of the Professor's friends. Please treat them with honor and respect. Now please, tuck in." For the first time, the students barely noticed the food popping into existence on their plates. But after a few, stunned moments, the students began to dig in. "I think this may be the best DADA teacher we've ever had" George Weasley said, "Don't you agree Fred?"

"Absolutely George" Fred replied, as both of them wore mischievous smirks. "Well, to be a teacher, he must have a really good idea of what he's doing" Hermione reasoned. "Wow" Ron said in awe, "Just look at those girls!" Hermione rapped his hand with her book. Harry didn't see the two fighting; he was busy looking at Snape, who seemed beyond livid that his dream job had been taken from him by a child. Harry wondered if the child teacher knew about him, and what he thought about Voldemort's return. Would this teacher be able to give them the tools they needed to fight? Harry would just have to cross his fingers and hope.

(Bad news guys, you won't get to see just how good of a teacher Negi will be until October 2009. I'm going to be unable to upload chapters due to a temporary job elsewhere. But I'll still be able to write. So once I come back, you can expect more frequent updates.

-Blaster_master1942)


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter VIII**

Harry's first night back at Hogwarts hadn't been as great as he'd hoped; the strange looks, whispering, and outright accusations deeply dampened his spirits about his first day of classes. As he, Ron, and Hermione entered the Great Hall though, Harry realized he was kind of glad Professor Springfield had arrived: he and his posse of girls would likely, at least to those at Hogwarts, provide ample distraction from the Boy Who Lived. One of the girls, wearing a lab coat and sporting glasses and a large forehead, had put a ladder in between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables, and was taking notes on the floating candles, occasionally stopping to draw a distance with a tape measure, or use an ancient looking abacus. She seemed to be too engrossed in her work to pay the gawking students any mind. "Oi!" Ron called up at her as they approached, "What are you doing?"

Hakase glanced down, identifying Ron, then spoke into her notepad "I'm studying these candles to see what magical force manipulates them, and how." There was a brief pause, then Ron said "But it's _magic_, it just makes the candles float doesn't it?" The girl's eyes flared and she turned to face Ron again "Everything in the universe is rooted in science! Even if magic was making the candles float, the magic itself wouldn't be doing the task! It might be anti-gravity or magne-" she was cut off as her tirade made her loose her grip on the ladder. She fell, but half a dozen students whipped out wands and yelled "_Wingardium Leviosa!_" The miniature scientist stopped a foot from the ground and hung there, the strength of the number of spells easily able to hold her up. As Hakase was lowered to the ground, Ron said "Maybe you're over thinking. Magic does stuff cause it's _magic_, you know?" As Hakase picked up her items and muttered, the trio sat down further down the table to eat breakfast.

***

After an eventful breakfast, with Angelina announcing she was the new Quidditch Captain, the Weasley twins advertising their products, Ron moaning about their torturous first day classes, their discussions about their upcoming Ordinary Wizarding Level exams, and life outside Hogwarts, they set off for History of Magic with Professor Binns. Normally the only high point of the dullest class in Hogwarts was when Professor Binns, the only ghost teacher on staff, floated through the chalkboard into class. But after five years, it had long lost its appeal, and the maddeningly boring lectures began to take their toll. But today there was something new. When everyone arrived, there were three girls already there, waiting for Binns. The three were from Professor Springfield's group: A short girl with blue hair, a bored expression, and large forehead, another with purple-blue hair that obstructed her eyes, and the tallest of the trio with glasses and dark green hair that was topped by two hair antennas. They wore Muggle clothes, but had texts, quills, and eager looks that showed they were ready to learn. As the other students settled in, Binns phased into the room through the board, as he usually did. The three new additions jumped in surprise. Or more accurately, the two taller ones jumped, the shortest girl raised her eyebrows in surprise, but showed little reaction other than that. "Now" Binns began in his wheezy voice, "We'll begin our lesson with giant wars. Since ancient times, giants have always been territorial and tribal creatures and so…"

It didn't take much longer after that for the students to be rendered nearly catatonic en masse by the ghost's dull lecture. The only way Ron and Harry kept active was by playing hangman on a scrap of loose parchment. When the bell rang, they all left the classroom yawning. "How on Earth do you expect to pass your OWLs if you don't pay attention in class?" Hermione whispered angrily.

"We don't need to listen to what Binns says" Ron said, "We can just ask you. You're the only one who pays attention."

"I'm not the only one" Hermione said as she nodded after the retreating backs of the three new girls, "That one on the left was writing the whole time the Professor was talking." She was indicating the shortest one with the forehead of doom.

"She must be really smart to be able to handle one of Binns' lectures." Ron remarked. "Hello Harry!" Cho Chang said as she approached Harry and his friends.

***

One awkward greeting, one accusatory question from Ron, one argument between Ron and Hermione about Ron's tact, and one trip to the dungeons later, the three were entering Snape's underground classroom with the Slytherins. "Settle down" Snape snarled as he came in. The words weren't necessary; the moment he came into the room, all chatter and fidgeting stopped. "Before we begin today's lesson" Snape said as he stood behind his desk, "I think it's appropriate to remind you that next June you will be sitting an important examination, during which you will prove how much you have learned about the composition and use of magical potions. Moronic though some of this class undoubtedly are, I expect-" Suddenly, there was a muffled explosion from Snape's adjoining office that made everyone start. The Potions Master was across the room and through the door in seconds. Blue mist blew from the doorway, obscuring Snape and the intruders in his office.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE!?" Snape's roar carried into the classroom. There were a pair of yelps from the office, and moments later, Snape came out from the haze with two girls held upside down by their ankles, suspended their by Snape's wand . They were identical twins, but with different hair styles, and they were covered in a jelly-like, blue substance. "Umm…" One of the twins said, "We were lost?"

"And we thought that the stuff in the jar was juice?" The other one said. Some of the students gasped at their gall. Snape looked livid; it was unlikely any student had _ever _broken into his personal stores… That he could _prove_, anyway…

"I shall inform the headmaster of this" Snape said in a low voice, "And you two-"

"NINJA VANISH!" The twins cried at the same time as they pulled what looked like small bombs from their pockets and threw them down. The room filled with white smoke, and everyone started coughing. "I think we used too much powder Fuka!" One of the sisters choked between coughs. "Just run!" The other cried. Snape gave a roar and there was a crash, followed by a slam of a door. The smoke settled seconds later, covering the room, especially Snape, in a white powder. The teacher was on the ground, apparently having tried to tackle the twins after they'd escaped his magic, but the two troublemakers were nowhere to be seen. Snape stood, said "Scourgify!", and waved his wand around, cleaning the whole room in a flash. With the white dust off of him, they could see the red of rage contorting his face. "You will all make a Draught of Peace" Snape said in a deadly, restrained voice, "These are your methods." He flicked his wand and instructions wrote themselves on the blackboard with audible screeching. "These are your ingredients" Another wave opened the class ingredient cupboard. "I will return in one half hour to evaluate your work. Start." And with that, Snape turned and strode out of the classroom, slamming the door behind him.

***

"Poor girls" Ron kept saying at lunch, "They won't last the day". For the most part, lunch was a somber affair, the sky outside was dark and murky, with rain splashing the windows. The tattoo of the rain joined the chatter of the students. The loudest tales were of the new girls, their doings around the castle, and the new professor. The quietest gossip however, was a little too familiar: Potter and Dumbledore. "Harry" Hermione said, "You've barely said a word all day. Are you alright?"

"I don't want to talk about it" Harry said dully.

"C'mon mate" Ron said, "Everyone thinks you're a nutter _now_, but just wait. They'll see."

"In the meantime" Hermione said, "We should just focus on our studies. The better our magic is, the better we can fight the dark arts."

"But that's just it Hermione" Harry said, "We've faced the dark arts _loads_ of times. We should be doing something to fight Voldemort (Ron and Hermione flinched), not just sitting here doing homework."

"Well, we just have to be patient Harry" Hermione said as she picked up her books "You-Know-Who isn't going anywhere anytime soon."

***

A short while later, the boys said goodbye to Hermione as they went off to the North Tower for their Divination class with Professor Trelawney, There they, again, discovered another pair of the new girls. But Harry remembered them from the train: the girl who had beaten Goyle and her friend with the brown hair. The swords girl had Muggle clothes, but the other one had somehow gotten a full set of robes, and an oversized wizard's hat that threatened to cover her eyes. The two were with Trelawney, playing with what seemed to be a bunch of sticks. As the class filtered in, Trelawney, excitement faltering her usually ethereal voice, explained that the girl, Konoka Konoe, was also a 'student of the Inner Eye'.

"Her aura is one of great power!" Trelawney said in a wispy voice "And I'd like her to share some of her Eastern divination techniques with the class, such as the I Ching she was so nice as to show me." Konoka only had one book of I Ching, but with a wave of her wand, Trelawney copied the pages in the air to float like ghosts and grow in size so the whole class could see. As Konoka explained the I Ching to the class, she turned the pages of her own book, and the page floating in the air charged as well, so they could read along with her. When the all understood the basic idea, they spent the rest of the period making Yarrow sticks and experimenting with them. "I was glad that Konoka girl came" Ron said, "It was kinda cool seeing how the Asians do fortune telling, though it seems like the whole thing is rubbish. I mean c'mon mate, we look at the stuff at the bottom of tea cups and they look at sticks. What's the difference?"

"Hmm" Harry responded, his mind on their next lesson: Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Springfield.


	9. The Premature End

Hey guys, blastermaster here.

And I've been doing you all a big disservice. You've been all waiting with baited breath for the next installments of my latest chapters, and I've been too lazy to tell you that they may never come.

I can't really explain it; much like the 70's obsession with disco, it seems my writing bug has faded and I haven't wanted to admit it. I really wanted to tell these stories, but I just lack the desire to put them into my computer anymore. Some of you will understand, and move on to find other fanfics of the same ilk. Some of you will be outraged, and you have every reason to be. I'm sorry that I couldn't have been as good you to you until now as you've been good to me.

All the reviews have been great and I hope I was able to capture just a smidgen of your imaginations.

Keep on reading,

Blastermaster1942


End file.
